The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, also referred to as “3GPP,” is a collaboration agreement that aims to define globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for 3rd Generation Systems. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone or device standard to cope with future requirements. The 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation mobile networks, systems, and devices. In one aspect, UMTS has been modified to provide support and specification for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). In 3GPP LTE a mobile terminal or device is called a “user equipment” (UE). A base station may be referred to as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB). A semi-autonomous base station/femto-cell may be referred to as a home eNodeB (HeNB).
A UE may have an established connection with either an eNodeB or an HeNB. A UE may reselect an HeNB or an eNodeB for the connection using an offset factor Q. The concept of using a Q Factor in reselection of an HeNB or an eNodeB is proposed in the current standard 3GPP-LTE Release 8. However methods and algorithms for computing the Q Factor and informing the UE about the value of Q are not specified.